A Feasibility Study for Establishing Sobo Freshio Production Outfit in Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (Published)
Zobo drink is usually produced by boiling the petals of Hibiscus sabdariffa flower along with other ingredients such as pineapple peel, ginger, garlic, flavour and water. It has become a popular local drink among students across various institutions in Nigeria. Zobo flower, Pineapple fruit and other ingredients used in the production of Zobo drinks are rich sources of nutrients and phytochemicals which are beneficial to health. It has been noticed with revulsion how most producers of Zobo drink on the two campuses of federal polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti produce and package the product in unhygienic environment. Worse still, the end product (Zobo) is also packaged in used plastic bottles that are majorly sourced from dustbins. This unhygienic of action of bottling zobo in used and unhygienic bottles pose threats to the health of these unsuspected consumers of the product. Research also established that there was a huge market for Zobo drinks in federal polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti due to the growing number of students’ enrollment each year. It was established that producing Zobo drink on the two campuses campus of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti has the potential of boosting the internally generated revenue of the polytechnic. The project was found to be economically and financial viable, having a profitability index of 121.5% and an accounting rate of return of 67.0%. Based on the foregoing, the project was recommended to be embarked upon.
Keywords: Ingredients, Production, hibiscus sabdariffa, zobo freshio